Come, Thou long expected Jesus

Representative Text

1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

2. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

United Methodist Hymnal, 1989

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Author: Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepene… Go to person page >

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Related Texts

First Line:	Come, Thou long expected Jesus! Born to set Thy people free
Title:	Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Author:	Charles Wesley (1744)
Meter:	8.7.8.7
Language:	English
Notes:	Spanish translation: See "Ven, Jesús muy esperado" by Lorenzo Álvarez
Copyright:	Public Domain
Liturgical Use:	Prayer Songs
Article:	Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus by Robin Knowles Wallace (from"The Hymns")

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Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1=2 Cor. 4:14, Rev. 3:21
st. 3-4 =Isa. 61:1-2, Luke 4:18-19, Rom. 6:22

Charles Wesley (PHH 267) wrote this Advent hymn and printed it in his Hymns for the Nativity of our Lord (1744). Like so many of Wesley's texts, "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus" alludes to one or more Scripture passages in virtually every phrase. The double nature of Advent is reflected in this text, in which we remember Christ's first coming even while praying for his return. Stanzas 1 and 2 recall Advent prophecies in the Old Testament; stanza 3 speaks of Christ's birth and kingdom, and stanza 4 is a prayer for Christ's rule in our hearts.

Liturgical Use:
Advent; Christmas and Christmas carol/lesson worship services; worship that stresses the second coming.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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Come, Thou long expected Jesus. C. Wesley. [Christmas.] Appeared in Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord, 1744, No. x., in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. The tract in which it appeared formed the first of those called the "Festival Hymns," which were subsequently published by Lampe in 1746. It was not included in the Wesleyan Hymn Book until the revised edition of 1875, No. 688, although it was given by Whitefield in his Collection, 1753, and later editions; by Madan, in his Psalms & Hymns, 1760; by Toplady, in his Psalms & Hymns, 1776; and by others. It is found in a great number of hymnals in Great Britain and America, specially those of the Church of England, and usually without alteration, as in Hymnal Companion, No. 96. A marked departure from this rule is, "Come, O Saviour, long expected," which appeared in Hall’s Mitre, 1836, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and again in the New Mitre, 1875, in 6 stanzas, the last two stanzas being Edward Osier's doxology, "Worship, honour, glory, blessing," from the older Mitre, 1836, No. 282. Other altered forms are, "Come, Thou Saviour, long expected," in Kennedy, 1863, No. 89, "Hail, Thou long expected Jesus," in the American Protestant Episcopal Hymnal, 1871. Original text, Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. iv. p. 116.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Come, Thou long expected Jesus, p. 252, ii. This is rendered into Latin by H. M. Macgill, 1876, No. 17, as "Veni Jesu ter Optate."

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

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Tune

STUTTGART

STUTTGART was included in Psalmodia Sacra (1715), one of the most significant hymnals of the early sixteenth century [sic: eighteenth century]. Christian F. Witt (b. Altenburg, Germany, e. 1660; d. Altenburg, 1716) was an editor and compiler of that collection; about 100 (of the 774) tunes in that c…

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HYFRYDOL

One of the most loved Welsh tunes, HYFRYDOL was composed by Rowland Hugh Prichard (b. Graienyn, near Bala, Merionetshire, Wales, 1811; d. Holywell, Flintshire, Wales, 1887) in 1830 when he was only nineteen. It was published with about forty of his other tunes in his children's hymnal Cyfaill y Cant…

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For Leaders

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In one of his many “Coop’s Columns” on the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship website, former Calvin College chaplain, Dale Cooper, recalls a moment in which he was travelling home to his young family after spending the summer in Geneva. He was calling his wife from Chicago’s O’Hare airport to arrange his pick-up in Grand Rapids, when his then four-year-old son asked for the phone. Cooper writes, “His only words to me— a sigh, really: ’Daddy, when am I going to be where you are?’” (Cooper, “Coop’s Column – Spirit at Work: Guarantor”).

It is this sigh of longing that we express when we sing the words of Charles Wesley’s beautiful Advent hymn, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” For though we know that Christ goes with us and before us every day, we long for the day when we are with Him in all of the fullness and glory He will bring. We long for the day when we are with Him in a New Heaven and New Earth, when all things are made new. And just as a four-year-old crawls into his father’s arms after an extended absence, so too we long for the day when we will be at rest in Christ, enfolded in the embrace of our Savior.

Text:

Wesley’s original text consisted of two stanzas of eight lines each. In some hymnals, where the tune STUTTGART is used, those two verses are broken into four verses of four lines. The text is almost exactly the same in every hymnal that includes this hymn.

There are a few points of interest to note about Wesley’s text. First, he used a number of “false rhymes” when he got himself in a corner lyrically: “Jesus-release us,” “deliver-forever,” and “Spirit-merit.” Wesley was quite clever in these – one generally doesn’t notice them unless they’re pointed out. Second, Wesley uses a lot of repetition to make some key themes more obvious. For example, in the second stanza, he repeats the word “born” at the beginning of three consecutive lines to really drive home the idea of the incarnation.

Tune:

Two tunes commonly accompany this text. The first is STUTTGART, a tune attributed to Christian F. Witt in the eighteenth century. Hymnologist Paul Westermeyer describes this tune as a “bold and sturdy congregational melody that stands on its own and bears repetition” (Westermeyer, Let the People Sing, 149). Note that this melody requires you to divide the original two stanzas into four. The second tune often used is HYFRYDOL, a Welsh tune composed by Rowland Prichard in 1830, and commonly associated with “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” Chris Tomlin’s Christmas album Glory in the Highest has an excellent a cappella rendition of the hymn to this tune. Singing the piece slowly and a cappella with the congregation is a powerful way of expressing the simple longing the text evokes.

Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb have written a new tune for the hymn with a one-line chorus: “Come thou long-awaited Emmanuel.” This is a folksy guitar-driven tune that also splits the two verses into four. I also recommend using the tune NETTLETON, most commonly sung with the text “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Accompany with piano, violin, and a marching drum beat on the snares. With this tune it’s possible to repeat the first half of the first verse at the end, with just a sustained violin line, ending on the words, “Let us find our rest in thee.”

When/Why/How:

This is a beautiful hymn for Advent that expresses deeply the two-fold purpose of the Advent season – we remember the birth of Christ, and fiercely desire His coming again. Perhaps more than some Advent hymns, this text especially expresses our longing for Christ's second coming. You could pair this hymn with other songs of longing such as “Wait for the Lord” and “All who are Thirsty.” This would also be a powerful hymn with which to end a service, especially a service of lament over the brokenness in our world. After crying out and naming our concerns and heartbreaks before God, how beautiful to close with this simple prayer of longing that also speaks of our hope. There is no sense in asking for something if we do not believe we could ever get it. Even as we express our need for consolation, we do so in the knowledge that our God is a God who consoles. Ending the service with this hymn would be especially powerful if you repeated the first four lines of the first verse, ending your time of worship with “Let us find our rest in thee.”

Suggested music:

Crawford, Darrell. Come, O Long-expected Jesus - Choral anthem to an original tune
Schram, Ruth Elaine. Emmanuel, Expected Jesus - Choral anthem pairing "Come thou long exptected Jesus" using the tune EBENEZER by Thomas Williams to "O come, O come, Emmanuel"
Hobby, Robert A. Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus - - For Choir, Organ, and Percussion, set to the tune JEFFERSON
Wagner, Douglas. An Advent Alleluia - for Choir using the tune HYFRYDOL
Uppercue, Kevin. Benchmarks (A Service Resource for Organ) - Contains HYRFRYDOL (and EBENEZER)
Shaw, Timothy. Hyfrydol - for Bass Instrument and Piano
Burkhardt, Michael. An Advent Processional - For Congregation and optional Handbells or Organ, uses the tune HYFRYDOL
Hakes, Derek K. Advent Hope a Handbell arrangement of "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" to the tune JEFFERSON and "Savior of the Nations, Come" to the tune NUN KOMM, DER HEIDEN HEILAND
Hopson, Hal. Fantasy on "Hyfrydol" - for Handbells

Laura de Jong,
Hymnary.org

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Piano/Organ Candles and Carols (A service of hope, peace, joy, and love) Music for Manuals - Advent, Christmas, Epiphany And This Shall Be a Sign (A cantata proclaiming God's promise fulfilled) More Piano/Organ...
Choral ADVENT ALLELUIA, AN Walk In the Light How Great Our Joy! More Choral...
Instrumental Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Choral Score) Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Choral Score) Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Full Score) More Instrumental...
Handbells Christmas Carol Celebrations - Keyboard/Handbell Score (Creative Settings for Handbells and Keyboard with Optional Congregational Singing) Christmas Carol Celebrations - Keyboard/Handbell Score (Creative Settings for Handbells and Keyboard with Optional Congregational Singing) Holy Light - A Candlelight Service of Carols - (Choral Score) More Handbells...
PowerPoint COME, THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS (Hymnal for Worship & Celebration 124) Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Hymnal for Worship & Celebration 124) COME, THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS (Presbyterian Hymnal 2) More PowerPoint...

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